It can be difficult to remember to slow down and enjoy what little summer we get when so much is happening. It’s been unexpectedly and surprisingly warm and sunny these past few days, and I reckon I very nearly missed it doing little things like catching up on sleep.
Build Your Own Musical made it through rehearsals and had its opening weekend. We feel under-rehearsed but the show is a lot of fun, and I in particular have valued a lot of what I’ve learned just from going through the process. Musical improv, unfortunately, isn’t much like riding a bike for me: if I don’t keep up at it regularly the skill evapourates from me like morning dew in a sunnier climate than this. Between the thought-out and extremely precise philosophy our director has and the sheer repetition of doing this show, I feel much more renewed in this area. As a bonus, I’ve been able to incorporate what I’ve been learning from my vocal teacher this past year, and it’s been extremely helpful. When it comes to singing I’ve always struggled with technique and lessons have been a matter of baby steps; I may still be delinquent when stood next to some of my more talented/skilled counterparts but I’ve made a lot of significant advancements and I’m proud of them.
In the meantime I’m keeping up with Theatresports at the Intiman, and that continues to be surreal. Unexpected Productions is also now doing shows at Edmonds Community College, which has a pretty spectacular new black-box theatre that they just completed before cancelling their theatre program, leaving it wide open and unused. I did a show there last weekend since the Intiman was closed for Bumbershoot, and it’s no Intiman but it’s still pretty sweet: ultra-modern, large and spacious (seats 220), great amenities (dressing rooms, scene shop, costume department, etc.)… no fly gallery or orchestra pit and the wings are pretty small, but still, it’s a pretty kickass space for a college that no longer seems to need or want it.
I’ve finally got around to posting some photos from the vacation. They’re pretty random, I’m afraid, and perhaps a few too many pixels wasted on random shots of animals (or Elizabeth feeding animals), but there are some nice ones nonetheless:
The director of the staged reading of When The Boogeyman Spent The Night also posted a highlight video and a full number from the show; the interested may choose to check them out:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xsGKcw8Lgo
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szCAcadwDDs
Here’s a free closeup of my makeup job:
That’s about it. Throw in an overnight business trip to Portland (a bit inconvenient but I do generally enjoy taking the train) and call it an update. Really it might not seem like much, but when you’re rehearsing several days/nights a week and then doing improv shows late at night on the weekends, it tends to consume most of what you’ve got.
Dan.